The morning after Mara’s confrontation in the greenhouse, I woke with my head against Aiden’s chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling me into a fragile sense of calm.
His arms were still wrapped tightly around me, his scent a mixture of earth, cedarwood, and something purely him ....something that always made me feel safe.
But something was off.
When he stirred and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, it lacked the warmth it usually carried.
He whispered something light ... a teasing murmur against my hair, but his voice faltered ever so slightly.
I looked up into his eyes, and there it was.
That flicker.
A shadow of something heavy… something he wasn’t saying.
Fear. Not for himself, but for me.
He buried it quickly, but I saw it.
I didn’t press.
Not yet.
Instead, I
